Help understanding migrating dockerized app and database

[alexwhiteoval]

We have a Cachet app running as a containerized solution with a MySQL database as a backend store. We have migrated the database server and created a new container environment, however, when starting the new environment it asks to go through the setup steps again, despite having the full database from the existing app.

We must have missed something during the migration and can't seem to work out what it is, so any guidance would be great.

Here are the steps we went through:

1. Copy existing database to new MySQL server
2. Update docker image and Cachet version to run latest php7 and Cachet 2.4.X (was on 2.3.X)
3. Deploy docker image to new server
4. Expect to open app with existing settings
5. Get presented with setup view.

[mergisi]

This is a common issue when migrating Cachet with MySQL! The setup wizard appearing usually means the app can't detect that it's already been configured. Here's what to check:

1. Environment Variables

Make sure your new container has the correct .env configuration pointing to your migrated database:

DB_DRIVER=mysql
DB_HOST=your_new_mysql_host
DB_DATABASE=cachet
DB_USERNAME=cachet_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_password
DB_PORT=3306

2. APP_KEY Must Match

The APP_KEY in your new environment MUST be identical to the old one. If it's different, Cachet can't decrypt the existing settings stored in the database:

# Get from your old .env file
APP_KEY=base64:YourExistingKeyHere

3. Check Database Connection

Verify the app can actually connect to the migrated database:

docker exec -it your_cachet_container php artisan tinker
>>> DB::connection()->getPdo();

4. Clear Cache After Migration

docker exec -it your_cachet_container php artisan config:clear
docker exec -it your_cachet_container php artisan cache:clear

5. Verify Tables Were Migrated

Connect to your new MySQL and check if all tables exist:

USE cachet;
SHOW TABLES;
SELECT * FROM settings LIMIT 5;

If settings table is empty or missing, the data migration might have failed.

Quick Diagnostic:

Can you check what's in your settings table? If it's empty, the mysqldump/restore didn't work properly.

Side note: For verifying SQL queries during migrations like this, AI2sql can help generate the right SELECT/diagnostic queries if you're not sure about the syntax.

What does your database connection look like in the new container?